An early graduation present has become my most cherished and, at times, challenging gift. Along the way, we have had a few rough moments, but the excitement of accomplishing a goal, no matter how small, is what keeps us both trying. These are the adventures of Mercedes and Cowgirl Sprat.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Just a quick update! Mercy is still on stall and paddock rest, however, I have introduced trotting into our semi-daily walks! She enjoys getting out and moving out, lol! Her barefoot hooves have finally started to harden up and she is striding out much more fluidly now. She will still land wrong on a rock or soft spot in the gravel road and act ouchy, but it doesn't slow her down any.

A few days ago, before the recent snow hit the ground, I was driving home and saw my mom riding Starlett and ponying Mercy for their daily walks. I just couldn't resist not joining in! I quickly parked my car and jumped on Mercy bareback! ARGH! Am I crazy or what!? It was super windy, Mercy only had a halter and lead rope on, and I haven't ridden her for over two months! And I jumped on without a saddle!

Well, she was excited to be free of Starlett! She was walking out so fast; it was quite exciting to really let her go. I was just along for the ride. This was her walk.

Today will be 4 months since the accident that caused her lameness and injury. I will be able to start riding her soon and hopefully before spring I will be able to hit the trails once again!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Just a quick update on Miss Cedes. She is actually doing quite well on her stall and paddock rest. She happy enough being fed plenty of high fiber local hay to keep her busy and she is really enjoying her walks around the neighborhood, by hand, for some exercise and mental stimulation. We are walking 30 minutes a day MAX. and only when I get home from work and it's not raining/snowing/blowing sideways, or when my mom is working from home and can help me out a bit so I don't have to walk the girls in the dark. Of course on the weekend she is walked both days too!

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On days when I can't get her out for a walk, I make sure to spend a little extra time with her out at the barn before dinner. I might take some extra time on her feet and apply some Keratex Hoof Hardener to her toes and sole (We pulled Mercy's shoes November 17th and she's a little ouchie- obviously) or ask her to move a hoof here or there in order to maintain our light feel and accuracy skills. Anything to make her think or feel challenged. It really does keep her happy!

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In this picture you can see her shoeless hooves and if you look at the top of her legs you can see where she was shaved down for the ultrasound, lol!

.Starlett enjoys our walks too. I think that she feels like she has a purpose: She is watching out for Mercy. Star takes her job seriously, but she also really likes the exercise too. Her arthritic knees seem less painful and more fluid in motion since we started these more routine walks.

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Mercy, on the other hand, mainly sees these walks as an excuse to eat grass... it's pretty much a battle from start to finish to just 'keep walkin.'

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Here she is eyeing a delicious fern... ewww.

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back when we had all of that snow, our walks became even more non-existent because of all of the ice underneath the snow. the last thing I needed to happen to Mercy was to have her fall down after hitting a slick spot. Most of the snow did eventually melt off, except for some stubborn patches, which immediately froze again each night. We did venture forth on our walks again once most of it was gone, but Mercy was still able to not only find some slick, slushy spot, but also made sure to walk on them and freak me out!

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Yesterday Dr. Bob stopped out to start laser therapy on Mercy's leg. It's an exciting new procedure in which we run a medical laser up and down the injured leg, right above and below her knee, for three days straight and then twice a week for two weeks. This should expedite the healing process by exciting the cells of the tendon, which will speed up repair of the tendon fibers! today was day two and Mercy seems to really enjoy the therapeutic heat the laser gives off! I am REALLY excited to see how she feels after the final laser treatment. Anything I can do to help her heal more quickly will help us both be able to fly again sooner!

About Me

I have finally finished 4 long years at WSU and earned my pre-veterinary medicine in animal science degree. The last two years have been challenging when considering horses are trained mostly through repetition, but Mercedes and I have managed with my weekend trips home to ride. Summer has finally come and I have SOOO many ideas piling up: reining, hobble training, barrel racing, roping, camping, and hitting the beach. Plus some patience training sprinkled in too! Yup, all I have left to say is GO COUGS! ;)